How often have you been honked by a car behind you when you are at the signal, and you took more than a couple of seconds to start at the green light? I get this so frequently. I am waiting at the light, talking to my wife or my kid, the light goes green and if I don’t instantly move, I get honked. As if expecting someone to be patient for those 5 seconds, is so unreasonable to ask. As if those 5 seconds is all they have in their lives and if they “wasted” those precious 5 seconds, they will have no meaning in their lives.
The other day I was running in the morning, but instead of running on the sidewalk, I was running right next to the curb and I got honked from someone coming from the other direction. And they gestured towards the sidewalk suggesting I should be running there. Yes, I was running on the wrong side so I could see the car coming, but I was running on the side, clearly outside the car lane. As shown in the picture, I was running between the curb and the white line.
I was startled and disappointed as “all” that other guy had to do, was to drive looking at the road (and not at his phone) but I had to be careful of black ice and pot holes. I had to focus on not falling down. I had a run to finish and I was exhausted. I didn’t have enough juice to jump back and forth between side walk and the street every time a car showed up from the front.
Believe me, a runner knows what the sidewalk is for.
If there is a sidewalk but a runner is still not using it, there could be many reasons for it. Running on sidewalk (when it crosses a driveway) is like going up and down the hill. And although it seems trivial when you are walking, this constant elevation change is troublesome for runners especially when they already have tired legs. Sidewalks get frozen quicker and stay frozen longer as compared to the street. Often times, there are water puddles on the side walk but the street is good because of drains.
So next time you see a runner, please honk to support their run but don’t honk because they are not running on the sidewalk. Know that they may be prepping for a big race and a simple thumbs up or wave may cheer them up. Know that they have taken effort to get their ass out of the couch and go out running, and doing so during this cold weather is not an easy task, so please be a bit considerate while you are sitting comfortably in the car in 71 deg F.
And there are many additional ways to be considerate without making a real effort.
- Next time when you see a garbage truck picking up your garbage, make an effort to wave at them.
- Next time you are sitting at your desk and the janitor comes in to pick up the trash, say thanks to them.
- Next time you see your mail man dropping mails, don’t ignore them but ask them their name so you can refer to them by name next time and say hello.
- Next time you see your colleague work late, take a moment to stop by and see if if you can help them in any way.
- Next time you see your neighbor shoveling and you have a snow blower, help them with your snow blower.
- And of course, next time you see a runner, please waive at them ;)
I do however come across many good samaritans I meet every time I go out running and this post won’t be complete without being grateful.
- I truly appreciate the traffic guy stopping cars coming from the side street when I am crossing the street so I don’t have to stop.
- I appreciate those small lottery stores which allow me to buy water using apple pay on my phone even when they have minimum $10 on credit card policy.
- I appreciate those drivers, who stop for me when I am crossing even when there is no pedestrian crossing.
- And those walkers walking on the other side of the road giving me virtual high-five to motivate.
Hope you are being kind to others!
PS: Huge thanks to everyone for supporting my Boston Marathon run and donating to the Spaulding Rehab. I have raised 25% of my fundraiser goal! Do check out, if you haven’t already, my motivation for running this marathon here.
